Saturnian Confederation
The Saturnian Confederation is a political entity that consists of and governs over the different colonies that exist on the moons in orbit of Saturn, as well as the colonies that exist on two of the moons of Uranus - Titania and Oberon. The largest and most powerful member of the Confederation is Titan. History The Saturnian Confederation was formed when the independent world Titan, and the colonies of Rhea, Iapetus, and Enceladus entered into the Treaty of Ontario Lacus in 2231. This treaty established an inter-colony economic coalition, customs agency and environmental protection agency. Over time, other smaller colonies entered into the coalition. In 2249, all inhabited bodies in the Saturnian system entered into the Second Treaty of Ontario Lacus, reorganizing the existing coalition and officially forming the current Saturnian Confederation. Titania entered into the confederation in 2301 and Oberon entered in 2344. In 2310, the Saturnian Confederation entered the United Federation of Planets as a full member. Members The Saturnian Confederation is made up of 9 member worlds, including Titan, Rhea, Iapetus, Enceladus, Dione, Pheobe, Mimas, Titania and Oberon. Governance The government of the Saturnian Confederation is composed of four arms: an executive branch, a legislative branch, a judicial branch and an environmental regulatory branch. Executive Branch The exective branch consists of the Saturn Commission, which is made up of nine appointed commissioners, one from each member world, and a tenth appointed commissioner, the President of the Commission. The nine normal commissioners are appointed by the executive or legislatures of the member worlds. The President of the Commission is appointed by the Saturnian Congress. The Commission is charged with implementing laws and economic initiatives passed by the Congress. In order to exercise these powers, it oversees a relatively small bureaucracy which can fully manage certain executive powers, but the Commission typically charters different private, commercial organizations to exercise its powers. These commercial enterprises take on most of the financial costs, but are supplemented with government subsidies, and receive advice and oversight from the Commission. In return, they harvest most of the profit. The Commission may also initiate legislation to be voted on by the Congress. When legislation is submitted by the Commission, the Congress must vote on it. They can amend it, but not rewrite it, and can either pass or reject it. Legislative Branch The legislative branch consists of the Saturnian Congress and the Saturnian Council. The Saturnian Congress is a publicly elected body consisting currently of 71 ministers - a permanent minister from each member world, plus one additional minister for every 100,000 people. Currently, 54 representatives are from Titan, 4 from Rhea, 3 from Iapetus and Enceladus, 2 from Dione and Titania and 1 from Pheobe, Mimas and Oberon. Member worlds vote for a political party, rather than individual representatives. The seats designated to each world are divided among the vote percentages each party recieved. Elections are held every five years. The party or coalition holding the most seats elects the Prime Minister from among their ranks. The Prime Minister sets the legislative agenda and appoints any and all representatives to the United Federation of Planets. Most legislation is passed with a majority vote, but other legislation, depending on the parlimentary rules in effect, may require two-thirds majority. The nine permanent ministers from each member world forms the Gang of Nine. The Gang member is the leader of the party from each world with the most votes. Any minister may prevent legislation from being passed with a filibuster, but filibusters may be shut down with five votes from the Gang of Nine. The Congress is in charge of drafting and voting on all legislation having to do with internal affairs. This includes the levying of taxes and designing a budget, drafting laws governing internal trade and travel, mining public resources, economic development and human rights. They also have influence on foreign affairs, as any law or initiative concerning foreign relations must be passed by both the Congress and the Saturnian Council. The Saturnian Council consists of the heads of state of each of the nine member worlds. They can initiate and vote on legislation having to do with foreign affairs. All legislation concerning foreign entities must be passed by both the Congress and the Council. Judicial Branch The judicial branch consists of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance. The Court of Justice consists of five justices, appointed by the Saturnian Council. They serve a maximum of one ten-year term. The Court of Justice hears grievances between different member worlds. The Court of First Instance consists of seven justices, appointed by the Saturnian Congress. They also serve a maximum of one ten-year term. The Court of First Instance hears grievances between private entities or between private entities and the Confederation. Environmental Regulatory Branch This branch consists of the Court of Saturn. The Court of Saturn consists of 27 justices - 9 justices appointed by the governing bodies of each member world, 9 justices appointed by the Saturnian Congress and 9 publicly elected justices. Congressionally appointed justices serve for ten year terms (unlimited). Publicly elected justices serve for five year terms (unlimited). The Court of Saturn has full approval of all construction and resource mining projects in the public domain, and some limited authority over projects on member-owned territories, as well as veto power over any environmental laws. That means, if a private organization or the legislature wants to initiate the mining of an asteroidal moon, or the construction of a starbase in orbit of Saturn, or the construction of a fusion lamp, it must be approved by the Court of Saturn. It also has the ability to halt construction or order the cessation of mining, or other project activities, after project initiation. This power extends to Federation and Starfleet activities on and around Saturn. Notable decisions include the prohibition of flying through Saturn's rings, and the extremely limited amount traffic near the rings in general. There is also considerable controversy over whether or not additional fusion lamps should be allowed to be constructed in the Saturn atmosphere because, while they will increase the activity of the Titanian methanological system, they will also increase the evaporation of ice crystals in the rings. Foreign Relations The Saturnian Confederation is a full member world of the United Federation of Planets, and is represented in the Federation Council. All representatives to the Federation are appointed by the Prime Minister of Congress. Titan is home to the Starfleet Advanced Flight School. Starfleet Flight Controllers work heavily with Confederation flight controllers to patrol and direct space traffic around Saturn. The Saturnian Confederation, due to its size and economical importance, dominates all trading in the outer solar system. However, it competes with the Jovian colonies for control of transport within the outer solar system. Jupiter, with its massive gravity well and several large, massive moons, allows for rapid gravitational acceleration, and much of the travel between planets of the outer solar system makes use of this acceleration. Economy Category:Governments Category:Saturnian Confederation Category:Federation Members